


Phileo (Φιλέω)

by GingerSpirits



Series: Agape (Αγάπη) [1]
Category: Anne of Green Gables (TV 1985) & Related Fandoms, Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery, Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Jealousy, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:21:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 16,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23019223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GingerSpirits/pseuds/GingerSpirits
Summary: Anne doesn't want to play spin the bottle again after the last time, Cole was not there to save her this time. Conveniently enough, Gilbert doesn't want to play either. Phileo comes from the Greek verb (Φιλέω) and means 'To Kiss'.
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe & Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Series: Agape (Αγάπη) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1669699
Comments: 92
Kudos: 279





	1. I Wish Gilbert Looked At Me

Gilbert sat alone in his desk during lunch break -he was not alone in the classroom tough, a group of girls were eating their lunch in a corner of the class- He was reading a book he borrowed from Dr. Ward, it was common seeing him reading most of the times. He had fallen behind in class due to being away for almost a year, but he caught up quickly. Now, Gilbert spent most of his lunch breaks reading books about human anatomy or any other book about medicine Dr. Ward lent him. Gilbert was happy to be back in Avonlea, coming back _home_ felt right although he did not know why, it just did. It might be because of a certain redhead's face appeared in his mind every time he thought about _home_.

In the corner of the classroom, said redhead was uncomfortable. Anne did not like that Gilbert Blythe started to spend his lunch breaks inside now, she could feel the tension in the air -so did Gilbert- Ruby acted out everything she said trying to get Gilbert's attention and failing miserably each time. It seemed like he could not care less about what they were doing and/or talking about -which is not entirely true, he did care, but not about what every girl in the group- he would glance at them sometimes, because he constantly felt this unsettling gaze on him, Ruby's. Gilbert would look up and see her watching him, he would give her a nervous smile, and then continue reading his book.

Ruby's staring was annoying Anne 'can't she be more subtle? Wait. Why do I even care? I don't' she thought. Either way, that was not the only thing that bothered her about Gilbert staying in the classroom, she felt that with him being there she could not express herself how she would like, she felt restrained. For some reason she could not understand -nor admit -, what Gilbert thought of her was important for her, she did not speak as much since he started staying inside during, she feared she might say something he could though wicked and scared him off.

Josie Pye enjoyed the company of this quieter, newer version of Anne. Her being quiet meant Josie could choose the topic of the conversation -even though the only ones invested in her _topics_ were only Tillie and Jane-.

"I wish Gilbert looked at me" Ruby sighed, looking at him.

"He does look at you, Ruby" said Diana, trying to be a good friend, not really believing in what she was saying.

"He only looks at me and half smiles" she cried "how are we supposed to get married if he hasn't even made a move and talked to me? Look at his lips, so full and pink" she touched her lower lip with her hand and sighed.

"I think I can help with that" Josie said, smiling mischievously.

"Help with what?" she responded.

"I can get Gilbert to kiss you" Josie whispered so that Gilbert could not hear her.

"You can?!" said Ruby way too loud "You can?" she repeated lowering her voice and Josie nodded. "How?"

"We could play Spin The Bottle" she smiled.

Anne, who was not paying any attention to the conversation, was suddenly awakened from her daydream when she heard the words 'Spin The Bottle'. Her heartbeat started to rise at the memory of the last time they played Spin The Bottle, how Cole saved her in front of everyone. She did not want to play that stupid game again, Cole was not here to save her this time. During this internal walk through the memory land Anne was having, the girls came up with a plan on how the game would go.

"Hey, Gilbert!" Josie said approaching him, Ruby following close behind.

"Hi" he said marking the page of the book he was reading and closing it.

"Wanna play a game?"

"A game?" he said, confused 'aren't we too old to play games?' he thought.

"Yes, Spin The Bottle" Josie said. Just as those words came out he moved his gaze from Josie to Ruby, who was smiling flirtatiously -or so she thought-, and it hit him.

"Oh, I'd love to-" Ruby's eyes shined with hope "but I have to finish this book before Saturday. I have to give it back to Dr. Ward and I'm barely halfway through" he tried to sound as disappointed as possible that he could not play.

"Well, if you change your mind, we'll be in the supply room" said Josie and Gilbert nodded. She turned and left, Ruby following her, trying not to cry. "It's ok, Ruby. I'm sure he'll reconsider his decision in a few minutes and come play with us" she whispered and opened the door of the supply room, where everyone was, sitting on the floor and waiting for the game to start -well, not everyone-.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" said Diana.

"Yes, for the thousand times," said Anne, letting out an exaggerated breath "go have fun. I'll just stay here doing some homework" she waved her hand telling Diana to go.

"Ok, ok" Diana shrieked with excitement. She hugged Anne and ran to the supply room.

Now, there were only too people in the classroom, Gilbert and Anne -how convenient-.


	2. I Took The Courage And Kissed Him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I, Gilbert John Blythe promise not to laugh at whatever Miss Anne Shir-"
> 
> "Cordelia" she interrupted. 
> 
> "I, Gilbert John Blythe promise not to laugh at whatever Miss Anne Cordelia Shirley-Cuthbert is going to tell me" he said with his right hand on his heart.

The class was quiet, everyone was in the supply room playing Spin The Bottle – except Anne and Gilbert, of course-. Anne had told Diana she would be doing some homework, but in reality, she was reading Pride and Prejudice –again- she was joining Gilbert in a certain way because he was reading too.

'What book is he reading this time?' she thought. Trying to read the title of the book Gilbert was reading 'Human Anatomy, Vol. II' she read. 'Hasn't he read this book before? I'm pretty sure he did. Oh, god. He saw me staring. Look away, Anne'

'Oh god, she's looking at me. What do I do? WHAT DO I DO? Ok, calm down, Gilbert. You got this. Smile" he smiled softly at her. Anne blushed and returned the gesture, quickly returning to her book. Gilbert had glanced at her a few times before she did the same. Anne seemed pretty invested in her book –and also just pretty- 'Pride and Prejudice' he read in the cover of her book 'Again? She must really love this book. It's like the thousand time I see her reading it' he thought. Gilbert was lost for a bit in his thought but quickly returned to his book, giving Anne another look before he continued. In this last –yeah right- glance, she looked sad. Before giving it a bit of thought he-

"Are you alright?" said Gilbert. Anne was too deep in her book to even hear him. "Anne?" nothing "Anne!" he repeated.

"Yes?" she finally heard him.

"Are you alright? You seem sad. It's everything alright?" he said, with a worried look on his face. Anne and Gilbert were friends, well, kind of, they cared about each other, you could clearly see that, but you did not see them talking and hugging like Diana and Anne did. Most of the time, they would be talking and Gilbert would say something –not so harsh- that would make Anne mad, but every time she would come by his house later that day and ask him for forgiveness. He always accepted, how could he not. This is Anne we are talking about, his Anne, well, not his Anne, but Anne. Anyway, he had always forgiven her even before she went to apologize.

"Oh" she looked back to her book. 

'So, something is happening' he thought. Gilbert quickly got up from his seat, book in hand, and walked over to her seat. "You know you can talk to me, right?" he said.

"Yes, I know," said Anne "but it's not a big deal"

"You can't say it's not a big deal when I can clearly see that you're not ok" he said, putting his hand on top of hers.

"Ok, will you promise not to laugh if I tell you?" he nodded "no, don't just nod. Say you promise" she said, lifting her chin up.

"I, Gilbert John Blythe promise not to laugh at whatever Miss Anne Shir-"

"Cordelia" she interrupted. 

"I, Gilbert John Blythe promise not to laugh at whatever Miss Anne Cordelia Shirley-Cuthbert is going to tell me" he said with his right hand on his heart.

She sighed "I was reading Mr. Darcy's proposal to Elizabeth" Gilbert pressed his lips together really hard trying to keep his promise "GILBERT BLYTHE! You promised you wouldn't laugh!" she said, laughing.

"I'M NOT LAUGHING" he wasn't before, but he definitely was laughing now. Anne gave him a playful hit on the arm, which made him laugh even more. She couldn't contain her laugh any longer and joined him. Both were laughing like never before. Stopping a few minutes later.

"What are you reading?" she asked like she did not know that already.

"Human Anatomy," he said "Second Volume" he added with a smile "I read it before, twice. I was just re-reading it, it's really interesting". 'Oh, fuck' he thought.

"What's wrong?" asked Anne. The fear in his face was clearly visible.

"It's just- don't tell Josie or Ruby that"

"Wait, what? What can't I tell them?"

"That I already read the book, twice. I told them that I couldn't play Spin The Bottle with them because I had to finish this book by Saturday and return it to Dr.Ward. Truth is, I don't have to give it back" 

She laughed, "It's ok, your secret is safe with me," she said, "Why didn't you wanna play with them?"

"It's not my thing," he said, "Why aren't you playing?"

"I'm not crazy enough to go through that humiliation again," she said "Cole is not here to save me this time"

"Again? Cole?" he said confused "Could you elaborate?"

"When you were away, Josie had the amazing idea to play Spin The Bottle," she said sarcastically "and made our entire class play. When it was my turn, no boy wanted to kiss me. I mean, I don't blame them" she was playing with her fingers "Who would want to kiss me? Look at me, horrible red-hair, face full of freckles, homely, and on top of that, an orphan. Who would want to kiss an ugly orphan?" 

"Anne, I-"

"Anyway, Cole stood up for me. He said he would kiss me"

'He said WHAT?' Gilbert thought.

"We were both nervous; he clearly did NOT think what he was doing. So, everyone started chanting 'kiss freaks kiss', well, everyone but Diana, Ruby, Jane, Tillie, and Charlie. Billy and Josie started the chant of course" she remembered "Finally, I took the courage and kissed him" Gilbert's heart stopped when he heard those words.

'Does she like Cole? I thought they were just friends. He lives in Charlottetown now. That explains why she was so sad when we were on the train back to Avonlea' he thought "Kissed- kissed him?" he managed to say.

"Yes, but just on the cheek" he could finally breathe again "that stopped their chanting though" she let out a breathy laugh. "Anyway, how is your dream of becoming a doctor going?" she said, taking out something from her lunch basket.

"Great, Dr. Ward is a great tutor and these books he lends me are really helpful too" he stuttered.

"That's good. I'm happy for you" she smiled "Want one?" she said, offering one of Marilla's famous plum puffs.

"Yeah, thank you," he said taking one "I love these"

"Me too, Marilla is a great baker. I hope to bake just as good as her one day, that would probably take a lot of time to master, I'm a disaster. I used liniment instead of vanilla once" Gilbert's eyes widened in surprise "in my defense, I'd broken the bottle of vanilla and then I found one on the pantry labeled 'Vanilla' but apparently, Marilla had broken the bottle of liniment and put the rest of it in an empty vanilla bottle. So, it wasn't my fault. Not entirely at least"

'She's so funny' he thought 'how could anyone not want to kiss her? Is everyone out of their minds? I'd kill Billy right now if I see him, why does he keep treating Anne like that? Wasn't I clear enough last time? I should probably remind him' he thought 'and Josie too, if I could, I'll slap that stupid queen bee façade she has out of her. Anne is great; she doesn't deserve any of what she has to go through'

"I would've kissed you, you know?" he blurted out.


	3. How Could You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "That doesn't absolve you from anything. I told you Ruby had dibs on him! You shouldn't have talked to him!" Josie said.
> 
> "Aren't we too old to call dibs on someone?" Anne said and Diana nodded in agreement "We don't own anyone. Maybe Gilbert doesn't like Ruby in that way! And here she is dreaming about them getting married" Ruby gasped and she realized what she was saying "Ruby I-"

"Oh, dear Diana, it was horrible" said Anne, covering her face with her hands.

"Horrible? If Gilbert Blythe said he wanted to kiss me, horrible would be the last word I'd think of" Diana admitted.

"No, No. What he said is not horrible, what's horrible is the situation" Anne tried to explain, but Diana did not understand what she was trying to say "I mean after he said that, I didn't know what to say. He probably didn't mean it, he was just being nice"

"Totally clueless" 

"What?"

"Nothing" Diana smiled.

"Well, anyway. Thank god you came out of the supply room just in time for me to avoid responding, you saved me!" Anne hugged her friend "What am I gonna say to him tomorrow? What if he asks me something or wants to talk about what he said? Oh Diana, promise me you won't leave my side tomorrow so that he can't come talk to me"

"You know he could come either way and ask to talk to you privately, right?" Diana reminded her friend.

"And if that happens, you and I would have to come up with an excuse so that I don't have to go with him, Diana"

"You are unbelievable" Diana sighed "see you tomorrow Miss Anne Clueless-Cuthbert"

"What?" Anne said, clearly confused.

"Nothing! Bye!" Diana said running away.

The next day, Anne came a little late for class -only two minutes late-. She hung her coat and when she turned around, she saw something written in the blackboard that stopped her breathing.

'ANNE + GILBERT' was written in the center of the blackboard inside a big heart. Anne blinked hard to see if that was actually there –it was-, she quickly looked over at Gilbert's seat, he was not there, yet. Anne ran to her seat, next to Diana.

"Did you write that?" Anne whispered-yelled.

"Of course not! It was already there when I came in!" she responded. Anne believed her, after all, Diana was her kindred spirit, she would never do something like that to her. 

"How has Ms. Stacey not seen that?" Anne asked her.

"She hasn't turned around" Diana said. Quiet sobs came from behind Anne's seat, it was Ruby.

"Ruby!" Anne quickly turned to see her.

"How could you!?" Ruby told her.

"I didn't do anything! I promise"

"Don't lie to me Anne, I might not be as smart as you but I'm not stupid. I saw you two, he was sitting next to you and you were laughing and sharing plum puffs. You seemed so happy with his company and he didn't seem nervous around you. How could you do this to me? You know how I feel about him and you didn't even care!"

"He's my friend, Ruby. We were talking about books!" Anne explained "I gave him one of my plum puffs because I was going to eat one and it would've been rude of me not to offer one"

"That doesn't absolve you from anything. I told you Ruby had dibs on him! You shouldn't have talked to him!" Josie said.

"Aren't we too old to call dibs on someone?" Anne said and Diana nodded in agreement "We don't own anyone. Maybe Gilbert doesn't like Ruby in that way! And here she is dreaming about them getting married" Ruby gasped and she realized what she was saying "Ruby I-"

"So you're saying what? That Gilbert likes you instead? You wish, how could he like you? How could any boy like you? You're just an ugly orphan" Josie said.

"I don't- I- Ruby I'm-" 

"Sorry, I'm late Ms. Stacy!" Gilbert came running through the door interrupting the girls' argument "Bash needed my help with-"

"It's fine, Gilbert. You're not late. We haven't started yet" Ms. Stacy assured him.

Anne was worried enough about the Ruby situation, now she had to worry about Gilbert too. He, on the other hand, didn't notice the big writing on the blackboard; he just went to his seat. Once there, he realized almost the entire class –minus Anne- was looking at him.

"Charlie, why is everyone looking at me?" Gilbert whispered to his classmate. Question to which Charlie only responded by pointing his index finger to the blackboard "Oh" he finally said, after realizing what was happening. 

"Alright class, open your books on page 47," said Ms. Stacy. She stood up from her desk and turned around to see the writing on the blackboard and gasped "Who did this?" she sounded angry. Everyone stayed quiet. She didn't want to push it, if she did that, she would make even more uncomfortable the people involved. So, she just erased it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! How are you guys liking the story?? Tell me what you think in the comments!


	4. Show's Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm warning you, Billy! One more time" he tried to loosen his friends' grip from him "One more fucking time and I won't have mercy" Gilbert threatens him.

A few hours passed, it was time for lunch –this should be fun-.

"I would die if someone paired me with that ugly orphan" Billy Andrews said going out of the classroom.

"That's enough Billy!" he turned around quickly to see who dared to talk to him like that, it was Gilbert. Billy wasn't exactly afraid of Gilbert – he was actually, Billy wouldn't admit that though-. Gilbert was a bit taller than him and more muscular.

"What's the problem, Blythe?" Billy said, trying to sound confident "Your little girlfriend will get sad?"

"Leave her alone" Gilbert stepped closer to him with his fists closed, "I said it once, and I'll say it as many times needed" he put his index finger in Billy's chest "If you ever hassle Anne again, you'll regret it"

"Why do you care so much?" Billy said "She's just a pathetic orphan"

"You asked for this" Gilbert grabbed Billy by the collar of his shirt and dragged him outside, tossing him on the ground.

"You can't be seriously defending her, Blythe," he said standing up "What has gotten into you?" he said, pushing Gilbert.

Gilbert did not take this well, and punched Billy on his jaw, knocking him on the ground. Before Gilbert could get on top of him, Moody and Charlie grabbed him, containing him, and both Pauls went to help Billy.

"I'm warning you, Billy! One more time" he tried to loosen his friends' grip from him "One more fucking time and I won't have mercy" Gilbert threatens him.

The girls got out of the classroom because they heard the fight. Anne was standing next to Diana holding her hand tight.

Josie cleared her throat, making the boys snap out of their argument. Gilbert turned his head to see Anne, she seemed scared. 'You've done it again, Blythe. She's scared of you now. First, the "I would kiss you" thing. Second, the writing, I didn't do that though but she was clearly upset by that. And now, this. She must think I'm crazy for punching Billy' Gilbert thought.

'He defended me' Anne thought 'He probably was just being nice, He's a kindred spirit. I should thank him for defending me'

"Anne-" Gilbert started getting closer to her so he could explain. Then, he heard giggles and quickly turned to the source, and it was not anyone than Josie and Billy. He gave them a threatening look and-

"Stop-" Anne said grabbing his arm "It's ok. I don't mind" she whispered.

"You should mind" he whispered back. Gilbert started breathing in and out to calm himself.

"Show's over people," Diana said and everyone left. The girls went inside and the boys went to their usual place outside the schoolhouse "I'll leave too" she said smirking at the couple -of friends- there. If looks could kill, Diana would be dead.

After a few seconds of silence...

"I'm sor-"

"Than-" 

Both said at the said time and laughed at their synchrony.

"You first" Anne said.

"I'm sorry for hitting Billy-" Gilbert started saying "Well, I'm not sorry for him, only for you"

"Why are you sorry? I thought it was really nice of you to defend me, thank you for doing that, but please don't do it again. I don't want you to get hurt" Anne said "I'm sorry your name was written next to mine on the blackboard. That must've been awfully embarrassing for you"

"What are you talking about?" he sounded confused.

"The blackboard? Anne and Gilbert written inside of a big heart?" she explained.

"Yeah, I know. I saw" Gilbert said, "I just meant, why would you believe I would be embarrassed?" 

"Becau-"

"It was a rhetorical question," he said "Anne, you're amazing. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You have to stop saying those things about yourself too. Yesterday when you were talking about you in that way I just- I just wanted to"

"You wanted... what?" 

"Nothing" Gilbert sighed "I have something else to tell you- I-" he was trying to think of a way to tell her this "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said what I said yesterday- That thing about kissing you" Gilbert said 'NO NO THAT CAME OUT WRONG. FIX THIS. FIX IT, BLYTHE' he thought "I meant-"

"No! It's ok, I understand" She interrupted him "I totally understand, you don't have to apologize. It's ok, I completely understand"

"NO, Anne. I meant to say-"

"It's fine, Gilbert!" Anne interrupted him again "I should go back inside, have a nice day" she quickly ran back inside to Diana, who was sitting alone, not wanting to be with Josie and her minions.

'Great, now you've really done it" Gilbert thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! Hope you guys are liking this so far! Let me know what you think, pls don't be a silent reader! Thank you so much to those who kudo-ed, bookmarked and commented🧡


	5. I'm Losing My Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'He's doing it again, oh no" Anne thought.
> 
> Gilbert was staring at her.
> 
> "Anne, I wanted to-"

Three weeks later...

Gilbert had not talked to Anne during this time – not about the 'I would've kissed you' thing at least-, they would talk from time to time but he never said what he really wanted to say. Anne completely misunderstood what he said – how could she not, he explained terribly- he did not mean that, what he meant to tell Anne was that he would have kissed her during a game of spin the bottle but he should not have said it to her because she clearly seemed uncomfortable after he said it.

"I have to talk to her," Gilbert said pacing in his room "I'm doing it today. I have to, I can't wait any longer. We've been weird around each other since what I said outside the schoolhouse. We can't keep going like this, I miss her. I mean, I know we still talk, but it's not the same, you know what I mean right?" he said "Oh god, I'm losing my mind" he sat on his bed, next to baby Delly "I'm talking to a baby, asking her for advice" he grabbed her and put her on his lap "you don't even understand what I'm saying. I have to talk to Anne, quickly. Before I lose my mind completely"

"Anne! Anne!" Delphine mumbled, clapping.

"Yes, baby. Anne" Gilbert grabbed her and went downstairs.

"Oh, look who's coming with uncle Gilby!" Bash said doing a baby-voice "The most beautiful baby ever! My Delphine!" Gilbert laughed and gave him the baby.

"I have to go"

"This early?" Bash said, "Where are you going?"

"To school. I just wanted to get there a little earlier so I can talk with Ms. Stacy" he lied.

"Alright. Say 'bye, bye' to uncle Gilby, Delly!" Bash said moving Delphine's hand to wave at Gilbert, and he approached his niece and gave her a kiss on the head.

"Bye, Delly" Gilbert said, going out the door. "Ok, you got this, Blythe. It's just Anne, you have nothing to worry about. Oh god, what if she hits me again" he touched the spot where she had hit him last time "No! she won't hit you because you're going to say just the right thing" he said to himself.

At the schoolhouse, Anne had come early; she had started coming early these few weeks so that she would not bump into Gilbert on the way. She did not want to be alone with Gilbert, he would talk to her and at some point in the conversation he would start staring at her –as usual- Anne knew she could not resist Gilbert's stare, it was like he was seeing through her soul. Every time Gilbert looked at her like that she melts, her legs turn to jelly and the urge to kiss him is unbearable. His stare did not use to bother her, but since that 'I would've kissed you thing' she felt different about him. She was really disappointed when he said he should not have told her that, she did not believe it was true when he first told her he would have kissed her, but a small part of her hoped he did wanted to.

Anne was sitting in her usual place reading _Jane Eyre_ , her favorite book. She was so distracted by her book that she did not notice the tall, curly-haired boy coming through the door.

"Good morning, Anne" his words snapped her out of her trance but she did not move her eyes from the book, nervous to turn around.

'Oh no, It's him. Where is Ms. Stacy?! I don't see her, she must be in her office' Anne thought. Gilbert cleared her throat to make her see him, he thought she had not heard him –oh, she did alright-.

"Oh, Gil!" she said 'GIL? What am I thinking?' she thought "Gilbert!" she corrected "Good morning!" Gilbert smiled.

'She called me Gil! She's so cute! How come I don't have a nickname for her? I need to think of one, I can't call her _Carrots_ again' he thought.

'He's doing it again, oh no" Anne thought.

Gilbert was staring at her.

"Anne, I wanted to-"

"Good morning, children!" Ms. Stacy walked in "You two are here early" she said cheerfully "How are you?"

"Good" both of them said in unison, which shook Ms. Stacy a little.

"Good morning, Ms. Stacy!" Ruby Gillis entered "Good morning, Anne, Gilbert"

"Good morning" they responded in unison –again.

Ruby had forgiven Anne for what she had said –and done- they continued to be friends like nothing had ever happened. Even though Ruby was starting to believe Gilbert, like Anne said, did not like her in a _romantic_ way –took her long enough- she still had a crush on him; it's not like she could forget about her seven-year-long crush on Gilbert. She was seeing how he looked at Anne, and realized that's how she wanted him to look at her, but he wouldn't, and she could not make him either because her friend, Anne, was starting to look back at him the same way; Ruby could not ruin this for Anne, Gilbert clearly liked her and she liked him back. She decided she would help in any way she could and pair them up; it was time for them to be together, enough of this 'slow-burn' shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I really love the beginning of this chapter, if we were to have a fourth season, I'd love to see Gilbert like this with baby Delphine. How are you guys liking this new chapter? Let me know, don't be a silent reader!! xo


	6. A True Kindred Spirit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I was thinking I could wear my light blue dress I-"
> 
> "Again?" Josie scoffed "You wear that old thing every Sunday to church"
> 
> "It's my favorite dress, Matthew gave it to me"

"Before we begin, I wanted to tell you some exciting news!" said Ms. Stacy, "You know that your Queens Entrance Exams are coming, and I couldn't be more proud of your achievements so far, all of you have a bright future ahead of you. These exams mean the end of your school years and the beginning of your university years, this is a big step in your lives and you can't just let it pass like any other little change in your life. That's why I decided to throw a party," the students cheered, excited about the news "It will be in two weeks, exactly a week before your exams. This party is going to be great to clear your mind and help you relax, even if it's only for one night. That being said, assistance is mandatory, I'll only accept someone's absence if they're gravely ill or dead"

"Where is the party going to be, Ms. Stacy?" Josie Pye asked.

"The party will be held at the Barry's household. Your classmate, Diana was very kind to offer her home as the location of our party" she responded "Any more questions?" silence "Well then, let's begin!"

The day went by quickly until lunch break –why does everything seem to happen during lunch break?-; the girls were sitting in their usual corner eating lunch. Gilbert, however, was not inside the class this time; he was outside –not with the boys-, he wanted to get some fresh air, he felt lacking in air since that long stare Anne and he shared this morning. Anne felt she could breathe perfectly, now that Gilbert was outside the classroom, she could finally speak again with her friends –and Josie-.

"What are you guys wearing for the party?" Josie asked, and the girls –minus Anne- started talking about dresses and accessories they could wear to the party. Anne was not participating much in this conversation, she did not have many dresses –she only had three-; she was going to wear her church dress to the party, it was a beautiful light blue dress with puff-sleeves, Anne loved this dress very much, Matthew gifted it to her when she first came to Avonlea.

"What about you, Anne?" Josie said, "You haven't talked at all, what are you wearing for the party?"

"I was thinking I could wear my light blue dress I-"

"Again?" Josie scoffed "You wear that old thing every Sunday to church"

"It's my favorite dress, Matthew gave it to me"

"And-" Josie started to say but Diana interrupted her.

"That's a really pretty dress, Anne" she grabbed Anne's hand "You'll look very pretty"

Lunch break was pretty quiet after that–at least in Anne's part-; Josie kept talking about dresses and how much she'll get asked to dance, while the other ones just listened and add a comment from time to time. The rest of the class passed quickly too; before Anne noticed, it was time to go back home. She quickly gathered her things and went out of the door arm-in-arm with Diana.

"Thank you" Anne said.

"For what?" Diana laughed.

"For defending me"

"Josie Pye is a mean girl, always so full of herself. I can't stand it" Diana stopped walking "Would you like to borrow one of my dresses for the party?" she offered.

"Oh no, Diana. I couldn't" Anne sounded almost ashamed of the proposition.

"Yes, you could!" Diana said excited "You could come early the day of the party and we could get ready together! The party is at my house remember? You could even sleep over! Doesn't it sound exciting?!"

"Yes, but-"

"No buts. It's decided then! You can choose any dress you want, anything for my bosom friend" she grabbed Anne's hand and squeezed it.

"Dear Diana, you are a true kindred spirit. I love you so much!" Anne embraced her.

"I love you too. Now, let's go. Our parents will be worried if we take too long" they started walking again.

Anne was really excited about this plan Diana had just come up with. 'Borrowing one of Diana's dresses! What a dream come true!' Anne thought. Even though one of her problems was solved, she was expected to dance at this _party_ ; she was not excited about this at all, Anne knew that no boy would want to ask her to dance, she was not as beautiful as Josie or as charming as Diana. She'll be happy if a boy would ask her to dance, 'only one, please' she thought 'That's all I'm asking. I want not to be the center of Josie's and Billy's laughs for one night. I'm not asking for more than one, please. Any boy, anyone. But if you let me choose, maybe he could be tall, with curly hair, brown-greenish eyes, handsome, like Gilb- oh no'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I just noticed that I never specified some things about this fic:  
> -Gilbert is 19, Anne is 17.  
> \- It's set after season 2 of Anne With An E.  
> \- It's been around a year since the end of season 2 and this fic.  
> \- I separated the girls, Anne, Diana, Ruby/Josie, Jane, Tillie. They sit together at lunch, but they're not actually friends (it's a weird situation between them). I'm not planning on making them a big group of friends just now, maybe later.  
> -When I don't put a specific time stamp on the beginning it means that it's a direct continuation of the last chapter.  
> -English is not my first language, so if there's any grammar mistakes please let me know that way I can continue learning. 
> 
> I think I said everything, but If I remember something else, I'll say it tomorrow in my next update. I'll try to update everyday. Thanks for reading! Tell me your thoughts about this chapter! Please don't be a silent reader. 
> 
> xo GingerSpirits


	7. Sobriquets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Oh my goodness, Gil!" she shrieked "This is so beautiful"

The following day, after school ended, Anne stayed for a moment to talk to Ms. Stacy. She did not actually have anything to talk about with her, so she came up with random questions to ask, enough so that she could avoid Gilbert asking her to walk her home. Unfortunately for Anne, Gilbert had decided this exact same morning that he had to talk to her and he was going to do it no matter what, he tried to do it yesterday but she walked home with Diana. When Anne walked outside the schoolhouse, Gilbert was sitting on the stairs fidgeting with his hands.

"Gil-bert" she quickly corrected herself from calling him by that nickname again "What are you still doing here?"

"I- I- I was- waiting for you" he stood up and put his hands in his pockets "I wanted to show you something" 

"What do you want to show me?" she asked with curiosity.

"It's a surprise" he smirked.

"I don't know Gil—bert" she started, "I have to go back home, if I take too long, Marilla will be worried"

"Please?" he pouted "I promise we won't take long. I'll even walk you home after and talk to Ms. Cuthbert. She won't be mad if I talk to her. You know, I'm kind of her favorite neighbor"

"First, your kind of her only neighbor and second-" she thought what to say next.

"Come on, Anne-girl!" he exclaimed "You're taking too long, we're wasting day light!"

_Anne-girl_

"Ugh, fine" she sighed.

"Yes!" Gilbert lifted his fist to the sky, signaling his victory "Come on! Quick!" he grabbed her arm and started walking fast. 

After a few minutes of walking, "Behold" Gilbert said moving his hand to show her the way "The Vale's Garden". The Vales were a wealthy family that lived in Avonlea, they had a big garden but it was not private, everyone could come and walk around the garden if they wanted to. 

"Oh my goodness, Gil!" she shrieked "This is so beautiful"

_Gil_

"Yeah, so beautiful" he said, looking at her. Anne noticed and quickly turned her face so he would not see her blushing. Gilbert cleared her throat, nervous, he looked around trying to come with something to say 'A bench!' he thought. "Uh, um" he cleared her throat again "Sorry, would you like to sit? So we can properly admire the beauty of the garden" he said pointing at the bench that was a bit far, but close to some beautiful orange daisies. She did not even answer and raced to sit, he laughed and followed her.

"I'll race you to it!" 

"Hey! Wait for me!" he ran behind her "Hey! Carrots!" he stopped 'fuck' he thought 'Fuck, fuck, fuck'. Anne stopped as well, not turning around. Gilbert ran quickly to her "Anne, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called you that. I know you don't like it. I don't know what I was thinking. Please, don't be mad at me"

She breathed, "I'm not mad, Gil—bert" she turned to look at him "Is just that, you haven't called me that in a long time, not since-"

"You broke my head with your slate?" he interrupted with a smirk on his lips.

"Hey! That's not what happened, but yes, not since that" she chuckled "I don't mind you calling me Carrots. As long as you don't pull my hair saying it, I'm ok with it" he laughed.

_Carrots_

"Besides, I could take advantage of this situation" she smirked.

"How so?" he raised a brow and crossed his arms. 

"Meh" she shrugged "I don't know, slate-face" she laughed and ran away from him.

_Slate-face_

"Hey! Come back here, carrots!" he ran after her.

"Not a change, slate-face" Anne turned her head to see how far he was and tripped doing so, she fell on top of the daisies.

"Anne!" Gilbert ran faster "Are you ok, Anne-girl?" he said sitting next to her.

She laughed, "I'm fine, Gilly-boy!" she teased.

"Gilly-boy?" he laughed

"You called me Anne-girl, I had to come up with something!" she kept laughing, even louder now.

_Gilly-boy_

"You're being really funny all day, did you drink some kind of laughter juice this morning or what?" he said.

"or what" she giggled. 

"Huh?" Gilbert did not understand the joke which made Anne laugh even louder. He stood up, "Come on, pretty daisy" he offered his hand to help her get up and she grabbed it.

"Daisy? I'll have to write down all these nicknames we're coming up with. Why daisy?" she asked.

"You fell on top of these pretty orange daisies" he showed her.

"Oh no, I crushed them" a tear rolled down her cheek.

He put his hand on her cheek, wiping the tear with his thumb "It's ok, Anne. I'm sure they'll grow back soon, and they'll be as beautiful as ever" 

"They're ruined, Gil" Anne turned to see him, his had still in her cheek. 

"They're not. Don't worry about them. Oh, you really went from 100 to 0 really quick" he joked but she did not laugh. "It's ok, Anne-girl" he pouted. Anne melted at the sight of this, him pouting was the cutest thing she had seen her entire life. 

His eyes

Her eyes

Locked

Time slowing down

Breathing

In and out 

In synch

Their faces

Getting closer

And closer

"Anne-" Gilbert breathed.

"Gil-" she blinked twice "Gil- I-" she shook her head "I- I should go, it's getting late" she turned to go.

"Uhh" he snapped out of the trance he was in "Uhh yes! Yes, right. Let's go"

_Pretty daisy_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I tried to do something new with this chapter but I think it didn't quite work out... Let me know what you think! Don't be a silent reader 🧡 also, tell me your theories of what you think will happen next! 
> 
> xo GingerSpirits


	8. Destiny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "That's weird because I think you look more beautiful than yesterday, and yesterday you looked more beautiful than the day before, and tomorrow, I'm sure you'll look even more beautiful" he smiled.

The day of the party...

Vanity is a sin, Marilla always tells her that, but Anne could not help it. She wished to be beautiful, to have shiny raven hair and a freckle-free skin. Every morning, Anne looked in the mirror as soon as she had woken up, hoping to see that her freckles were gone and her hair was no longer red. Every morning, she was disappointed to see that she looked the same as she did the day before. This morning was not different from the others.

The party was this evening; she was supposed to go to Diana's after breakfast. Anne was going to be there early, Diana insisted on her going this early so they can spend as much time as they liked choosing a dress, and doing their hair for the evening.

"Anne! Breakfast" Marilla called from downstairs.

Anne ran downstairs, "Good morning, Marilla!" she kissed her cheek, "Good morning, Matthew!" she kissed his cheek too.

"Good morning, Anne" Marilla said, "you seem happy today. Are you excited for the dance?"

"Well, kind of... I am excited to be with my friends outside the school. The party is a plus" she smiled "Besides, I get to borrow one of Diana's beautiful dresses. This day could not get any better. Let's just ignore the fact I look the same as yesterday" she sighed. 

"You mean... as beautiful as yesterday?" Matthew asked, "That's weird because I think you look more beautiful than yesterday, and yesterday you looked more beautiful than the day before, and tomorrow, I'm sure you'll look even more beautiful" he smiled. Anne loved Matthew, he always knew exactly what to say. 

After breakfast, as promised, Anne went to Diana's. They spent a lot of time choosing Anne's dress, more than what Diana had expected, she knew Anne was indecisive but this was another level of indecisiveness. Anne put on the dress she finally settled for and stood in front of the mirror.

"You look so beautiful, Anne" Diana said, standing next to her friend in front of the mirror.

"I must admit I really like the way I look right now, but I don't look nearly as beautiful as you do, dear Diana" said Anne, clearly amazed by the way she looked. The dress was a beautiful navy blue with some white flourish around the wrists and the neck. She had her hair down, Diana curled it.

"Stop that!" Anne furrowed her brows, confused "You are beautiful, Anne. Stop saying those things about yourself! I've listened to you talk horribly about yourself for five years and I will not have it anymore" she made Anne look at her "I'm being completely honest, I know you don't believe me. I've told you this so many times and you still don't believe it. I will accept you not believing in your beauty, you can believe whatever you want, even if you're wrong, but I will not accept you being mean to yourself. If you say anything mean about yourself, Anne, I swear to you, I'll-" Diana did not know what to say, she thought about it a bit until she came up with something, "I'll tell Gilbert to tell you how beautiful you truly are" she smirked.

"You wouldn't dare!" Anne exclaimed.

"I would and I will dare if you keep talking like that about yourself" Diana crossed her arms, and smiled. Anne turned to look at herself in the mirror again; "Gilbert is going to lose his mind when he sees you in this dress" she smiled at her friend "What are you waiting to ask Gilbert out?"

"Ask Gilbert out?" Anne gasped "Why would I do that?"

"Oh stop, we've been over this like a thousand times before" she sighed "You like him, he likes you. ASK.HIM.OUT"

"He doesn't like me and-"

"So you do like him, you didn't denied it" Diana smirked.

"And" Anne ignored her friend's comment "even if he did, he's the one that's supposed to ask me out. He's the boy"

"Ah come on, you don't believe that" she shook her head "That's a terrible excuse, you're Anne 'if I liked a boy couldn't I just kiss him' Cuthbert"

Anne laughed, "I'm not asking him out, Di"

"You're impossible" Diana sighed and fell dramatically to her bed.

Anne chuckled, "I'm going to miss you so much. I can't believe I'm going to Queens without you" she sighed.

"Don't worry, we can write to each other... all the time. I'll be back home in Avonlea during summer and winter break, we can see each other then" Diana said, sitting in her bed.

"Talk to them, Di" she said, "Tell them you don't want to go to Paris"

"You know I can't do that" 

"Why not? Is your future, not theirs" Anne sat next to her friend.

Some of their classmates started to arrive, the party was starting. Anne and Diana decided to stay upstairs for a little bit to be fashionably late. When they heard music, they decided it was now time to go downstairs. Their entire class was there already, almost every eye in the room was looking at their direction as they were coming down the stairs, the two girls looked like angels coming down from heaven. A certain person's stare was stronger than the others, but he was only looking at one of the angels that were coming down, the redhead. 

"He's wearing matching colors" Diana whispered to her friend, Anne shrugged like she did not care "What a coincidence, don't you think?" she smirked "That the one and only Gilbert Blythe decided to wear a boutonniere with the same colors as your dress. Did you tell him what you were wearing?"

"How could I've? I've been we here all day" Anne answered.

"Well, there's only other thing that could explain this-" Diana made a dramatic pause "It's destiny!"

"He's wearing white and blue, Diana. Those are very common colors, every girl could have worn a dress with those same colors!" she explained.

"Look around, Anne. No one but you is wearing those colors" Anne looked around to see that Diana was right.

Destiny. 'Could it be?' Anne thought. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! I want to know how are you guys liking the story. Tell me if you have any theories! 
> 
> QUESTION: Do you prefer I make you wait for them to come together or should I just do it? :) 
> 
> xo GingerSpirits


	9. Us Orphans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It's ok, Diana. I got this" Anne interrupted her friend "And why is that, huh?" she crossed her arms. 
> 
> "No boy would want to dance with an ugly orphan" Josie spat. 

"ANNE! DIANA!" Ruby exclaimed running to them "You look so beautiful, both of you" she said with a smile.

"Thank you, Ruby. You look so pretty too" Anne nodded.

"Pink is certainly my color" she twirled to let her friends see her dress "and blue is most certainly yours, Anne" she grabbed her friend's arms.

"Thank you!" Diana exclaimed, "I've been telling her how beautiful she looks but she won't listen!"

"I bet Gilbert thinks the same" Ruby smirked, then turned her head to look at him who was in the other side of the room with Moody, but looking at the group of the three girls "He hasn't stopped looking at you since you came down the stairs"

"Not you too, Ruby!" Anne groaned "I thought you liked him!"

"I did, but I realized it was just a stupid and childish crush, I was being selfish too... I knew Gilbert liked you since he first saw you, it was pretty obvious may I add. I had the advantage, I had 'dibs' so even though you had feelings for him too –not since the beginning- you still wouldn't talk to him because of me. I waited for years for him to get over you and fell in love with me, but he wouldn't. He still likes you, and I think he likes you even more than before, maybe even love-"

"LOVE?!" Anne gasped "Are you out of your mind?!"

"I think he loves you too" Diana said.

"Too?" she said, "I don't love him" she lied –Anne did not know she loved him, but she did love him.

"I'm not saying that you love him, I'm saying that I also think he loves you" Diana explained.

"Who loves who?" said Josie, who had just approached them

"Nothing" Ruby said, "Hi, Josie"

"Hello, Ruby. Hi, Diana –Anne" you could hear the disgust in her tone when she said that last name.

"Josie" Anne and Diana nodded. Clearly none of them liked her anymore; to them, Josie Pye was a mean soulless bitch –not that any of them would say it out loud-.

"What were you guys talking about?" Josie asked.

"Nothing" Ruby repeated.

"Ah, don't lie. I heard something about 'he', whoever he is, loving her" she said pointing at Anne.

"Well, no offense, but that's none of your business" Diana replied.

Josie rolled her eyes, "Anyway" she started talking about the many boys that had invited her to dance already and how she declined every offer, she –apparently- was waiting to dance with a "certain boy" before she could dance with the others. Anne did not believe a single thing she was saying, clearly, no one had asked her to dance, and she was just making stuff up to sound important. After a few minutes, Ruby left to say hi to Jane and Tillie; leaving Anne and Diana alone with Josie. 

"So, Diana would you like to dance with anyone in particular?" Josie asked.

"Not really, I'm not looking forward to dancing with anyone tonight. If someone asks me, I'll probably say 'yes' out of politeness" She answered truthfully.

"I'll ask you the same, Anne; but I don't think any boy would ask you to dance" Josie scoffed.

"Josie Pye you-" Diana started. Ruby came to them as soon as she heard Diana's loud voice when she tried to spit back at Josie everything she's said to her friend

"It's ok, Diana. I got this" Anne interrupted her friend "And why is that, huh?" she crossed her arms. 

"No boy would want to dance with an ugly orphan" Josie spat. 

"At least, I know that any of the boys want to dance with me" Anne started "I don't have to come up with lies so that everyone thinks that I've been asked to dance by many boys when in reality, no one asked me because I'm such a narcissistic bitch that no one likes" Anne exploded. Both Diana and Ruby smiled widely, proud of her friend.

"You know what, Anne Shirley?" Josie stepped closer "No one-"

"Anne," a boy said, stopping their argument. He was tall, with messy curly hair and green eyes with specks of brown –hazel eyes you could say, but that doesn't sound as romantic-; he was wearing a blue and white boutonniere. "Would you like to dance with me?"

"Oh, how splendid! " Ruby smiled.

'Is this really happening or am I just imagining it again?' Anne thought. Gilbert Blythe just asked Anne to dance. He did. Incredible. This has to be a dream.

"Anne!" Diana nudged her friend.

"You want to dance with her?" Josie asked furrowing her brows.

"Yes, he does. Didn't you hear him?" said Ruby.

"I don't just want. I've been pacing around the other room trying to calm myself down so I could come to ask Anne to dance with me" he admitted. Diana and Ruby smiled knowingly.

"Why would you want to dance with... her?" she looked her up and down.

"I guess us orphans have to support each other because no one wants to dance with us" Gilbert smiled while answering, without looking away from Anne. "At least, that's what I heard you say, Josie" Gilbert looked at her "Didn't you say that?"

"Well- I-" she tried to say.

"It was a rhetorical question" He spat "The only question I want an answer to is the one I did to Anne" he looked back at Anne, feeling confident and said "So, what do you say, Carrots? Are you going to dance with me?" Diana gasped.

'He did not just call her that. Gilbert, you're fucked" she thought, but she was pleasantly surprised to hear that Anne only laughed at that and said-

"Yes"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! Believe it or not, I have every chapter of this already written and they were supposed to come together in this chapter (they admitted their feelings to each other in this one) but I changed it, dragging their relationship a bit more.
> 
> Maybe you noticed it used to say this was a 15 part story, and now it says ? again. Well, that's because I just added two more chapters in between and I'm writing something more and I'm not completely sure how many chapters there's going to be at the end.
> 
> I hope you're liking the story! Tell me what you think, don't be a silent reader!
> 
> xo GingerSpirits


	10. She Doesn't Love You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "STOP! STOP! STOP!" Gilbert stood up, his eyes were closed and his hands went to cover his ears.

"Yes"

Gilbert pulled out his hand for her to grab. They walked to the middle of the dance floor, he gave her a little swirl so he could see her.

"You look very beautiful, Anne" he bent down and said in her ear. The song playing wasn't exactly slow, but it was not fast either, so they were standing as close as they were allowed to.

"You don't look so bad yourself, Gil" she smiled "Gilbert" she corrected herself.

"No, you can call me Gil. I like it"

Anne blushed "Alright, Gil" he spun her around. They were nervous at first, but they quickly relaxed; after all, it's just them. Anne and Gilbert. Gilbert and Anne. They have known each other for years, why would they be nervous? It's not like they like each other... right?

They dance for what it felt like hours, song after song, they did not stop dancing, not even when the band was preparing to play the next song. It was like they were in some sort of trance like their dance was enchanted, it was only them in the room, Anne and Gilbert, the whole world seemed to have disappeared while they danced. After those many dances, Gilbert felt a tap on his shoulder. He stopped and turned to see a tall boy with blonde hair. Anne gasped.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"COLE!" Anne shrieked, freeing herself from Gilbert and launching herself to her friend, pulling him in for a hug.

"I've missed you so much!" they said at the same time.

"What are you doing here?!" she said pulling away from the hug.

"Diana sent me a letter to let me know about the party, I couldn't miss it," Cole said "And I'm really glad I came... I see you're finally listening to your heart, dear" he said, Anne looked at him confused, "Gilbert!"

"Ah...yes, kind of" she blushed "Wait, where is he?"

"I don't know, maybe you should go see where he is" Cole said.

"Oh no, it's ok. I'm sure he's fine. I don't want to leave you now, I haven't seen you in months!" she hugged him again.

Gilbert left when they were hugging, both too distracted with each other to notice him leaving. He went outside to the porch, his heart aching. He had just seen the girl he loves jump into the arms of another man, right in front of him, like she did not even care about hurting his feelings.

Feelings, feelings, feelings...

His pulse quickened when he thought about her, those thoughts were not beautiful as usual, this time, he was replaying in his head over and over again how she had jumped into Cole's arms. She did not have a boyfriend, she could not have, not that she is not beautiful enough –of course, it is not that- but she would have told him, they are best friends. If Anne was dating someone, he would have known... right?

If the music had a lower volume, you could have heard the sobs coming from the porch. Gilbert's poor heart was shattered you could hear it in his sobs; you could see it in his face; you could see it in his eyes, which had lost its light; you could see it in his posture, he was sitting on a chair with his hands hiding his face from the world. He lifted his head from a moment and looked inside the house through the window, Anne and Cole were dancing, not the way Anne and he danced though, they were not lost in each other's eyes, they were not slow dancing even, just dancing. Despite these little hints, he could not bear the sight and hid his face again, not wanting to see them together.

_"COLE!"_

_"I've missed you so much!"_

  
'Don't'

_"COLE!"_

_"I've missed you so much!"_

'Stop'

_"COLE!"_

_"I've missed you so much!"_

  
'Please stop'

_"COLE!"_

_"I've missed you so much!"_

  
"STOP! STOP! STOP!" Gilbert stood up, his eyes were closed and his hands went to cover his ears.

_"COLE!"_

_"I've missed you so much!"_

  
He fell on the ground, he stopped covering his ears, it was not helping much either way.

"She doesn't love you, Gilbert. Accept it" he said to himself.

"I have to disagree" the voice startled him, it was raspy. It was a boy, a particular boy who Gilbert did not want to see at the moment. The boy approached him, extending his hand to help him get up from the ground, "Come on, Gilbert. You're ruining your suit"

Gilbert stood up on its own, "What are you doing here, Cole?" he asked, "Shouldn't you be with Anne, inside?"

"As much as I'd love that, she's dancing with her friends now" he replied kindly, "I went out of the dance floor to let them dance freely, and I ended up standing next to a window and I heard someone begging something to stop. When I looked through the window, I saw this boy, I'm sure you know him, letting himself fall onto the ground, so I had to come and check on him" Cole raised a brow "I think he's hallucinating. He said the stupidest thing ever when I came out"

"You of all people should know that I'm right"

"Why?" he stepped closer.

"Because she likes you, she _loves_ you!" Gilbert breathed.

"Wait," Cole shook his head "Who are we talking about?"

"Are you trying to torture me or something? You came to laugh right at my face?" Gilbert spat.

"Gilbert! What are you talking about?!" Cole exclaimed, waving his hands in desperation.

"ANNE!" Gilbert yelled.

"I don't understand" he said confused.

"What don't you understand?" he rolled his eyes.

"Why are you saying this? Anne doesn't like me!" he said.

"What?" he said, barely above a whisper, his voice breaking.

"Anne doesn't like me, Gilbert. She's just my best friend" he explained, lowering his voice.

"But- but- I saw you two! She jumped into your arms; you kissed her once while playing spin the bottle, she told me!"

"First, she's my best friend and we hadn't seen each other in months, of course she jumped to hug me" he started, "Second, _she_ kissed me and it was a kiss on the cheek, did she not tell you that?" Gilbert nodded, admitting she did tell him. "Third... I don't like Anne. I love her, I do, but not in the way you love her"

"What?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! I love jealous Gilbert, I couldn't not put some more of him on this fic. What do you guys think?!
> 
> Tell me your thoughts, don't be a silent reader!
> 
> xo GingerSpirits


	11. Oblivious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Di! I just remembered" Ruby exclaimed, "We have to do that thing, remember? That thing it was so important to do, we must do it now"
> 
> "What?" Diana said, Ruby widened her eyes, and then secretly looking at the pair next to them to make her understand. "Uh... AH! Yes! Yes! Let's go do that thing!" and they left, leaving them alone. 

"What?" Gilbert said.

"Maybe you want to sit for a minute" Cole went to sit.

"I'm ok, continue" he gestured with his hand.

"I don't like Anne. Not romantically at least" Cole sighed, "I should've guessed she wouldn't have told you" he said with his voice low. 

"Tell me what?" 

"Gilbert, I- I'm not like you" Gilbert looked clearly confused at this statement so he continued, "I'm not like you in the way I don't like the same things you like" he still does not understand "I don't like girls, Gilbert"

"Oh," his shoulders relaxed, realization hitting him "You don't like girls" Gilbert repeated, and Cole shook his head. "That's totally fine, Cole. You don't have to be ashamed or scared of me. I understand. Love is love" he smiled.

"I never thought I'd have to tell you that, and even less in this situation. You were jealous of me" he let out a breathy laugh.

"I was not jealous" he said emphasizing the 'not' 

"Gilbert, please" Cole tilted his head, "You were jealous, and for nothing. Ignoring what my likings are... How could you say Anne doesn't love you?"

"Because she doesn't, maybe she loves me the way she loves you, but not in a romantical way"

"How are you the smartest boy in the class?" Cole rubbed his temples, Gilbert was confused, "How can you be so oblivious?" he said, "How can you two be so oblivious?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You and Anne! You've liked each other for years" he started, standing up, "and both of you are so oblivious to notice! I can't believe it. I thought you had made some kind of progress when I saw you dancing together, but clearly you haven't" he waved his hand up and down, gesturing towards Gilbert, "You two are the smartest on the class and the most oblivious-"

"Could you stop saying oblivious" Gilbert interrupted.

"No! Because you are, both of you are. Anne loves you, Gilbert. How can you not see that?" Gilbert tried to interrupt but Cole did not let him "And you love her and she doesn't believe that either! I seriously cannot believe this. Five years! It's been five years!" he waved his hands in the air, pacing around. "Five years of you being smitten with Anne and not doing anything about it, and Anne denying her feelings for you and denying your feelings for her. I knew it from the beginning, by the way, you're pretty obvious, and she's pretty obvious too, she was hiding her feelings for you in this 'I hate him' façade she built, but she wasn't fooling me, nor Diana. She's liked you from the beginning too since when you offered to 'slay dragons' or something. Yes, she told us" he stopped and looked at him; Gilbert was standing there in shock. "Five years, Gilbert. What are you waiting for?" he kept quiet, "Gilbert! What are you waiting for? You love her, she loves you. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!" Cole shook him by the shoulders.

Gilbert just nodded and walked back inside; Cole followed him with a grin on his face. Gilbert stopped right at the door, looking around the room for the redhead. He found her, she was still dancing with her friends.

"Go get your girl, slate-face" Cole patted his shoulder.

Gibert quickly turned to look at him, "What did you just call me?" he said and Cole laughed. "Anne calls me that" 

"She stole that from me, I'm the mastermind after that nickname" Gilbert laughed, "Now, go get your girl, slate-face" he pushed him into the dance floor. Gilbert tripped and collided with a blonde.

"I'm so sorry, Rubes. Are you alright?" Gilbert said.

"I'm fine, Gilbert" she smiled sincerely; Gilbert nodded, then turning to look at the other two girls in the group.

"Hi" he said. 

"Hi" Anne responded.

"Di! I just remembered" Ruby exclaimed, "We have to do that thing, remember? That thing it was so important to do, we must do it now"

"What?" Diana said, Ruby widened her eyes, and then secretly looking at the pair next to them to make her understand. "Uh... AH! Yes! Yes! Let's go do that thing!" and they left, leaving them alone. 

Diana and Ruby ran to Cole who was seeing the exchange from afar.

"Let's hope they finally do it today" Cole said. 

"I like you boutonniere" Anne said.

"Thanks" he smiled.

"It matches with my dress" she blushed.

"It does, doesn't it?" her comment boosted his confidence, "Would you like to dance? With me". She grabbed his hand and put it on her waist without answering. Then putting on her hands on his shoulders, and the other on his hand, intertwining them. Gilbert sighed, relieved.

"Oh, look at them!" Ruby sighed, "They're so in love"

"Yes, and so irritatingly oblivious" Cole rolled his eyes.

"Anne, I need to tell you something," Gilbert said "I have a lot to say so please let me talk, you can talk after I'm finished" she nodded, a worried look took over her face "You have nothing to worry about, I just want to explain myself" she smiled "The other day, like a month and something ago I told you and I quote 'I would've kissed you, you know?' remember?" she nodded, her heartbeat quickening "and the day after that I told you that I shouldn't have said that, but- that's not what I meant. I was trying to say that I shouldn't have said that because I know it upset you, I could see it in your face, I mean, you were speechless and not in a good way, not in the way I would want to leave you speechless" he swallowed the lump on his throat "Anyway, what I'm trying to tell you, Anne. It's that I do want to kiss you, more than anything. I couldn't live with myself knowing that you thought that I didn't want to kiss you, because I do. I do, Anne" he sighed "and I completely understand that you wouldn't want to kiss me, that's completely up to you to decide who you want or don't want to kiss, and I understand completely" he was rambling. 

"Are you finished? Can I talk now?" he nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to let you now that the next chapter won't be a continuation to this. It's going to be a flashback chapter to something that happened before the party. Tell me your thoughts on this chapter! Don't be a silent reader! Thank you so much for reading and for kudo-ing :) 
> 
> xo GingerSpirits.


	12. White And Blue Boutonniere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Don't play dumb, Gilbert" she started saying "You like Anne, I know you do. It's always been her and you know it" he was speechless, so she kept talking "You know, Anne made me read this book, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brönte, she loves this book –well, it's difficult to find a book she doesn't like but that's not the point-. There's this line in the book: 'Whatever our souls are made of-"
> 
> "-his and mine are the same'" he smiled "sorry, please continue"

A week before the party...

Gilbert Blythe was in his room studying for his exams. He is pretty smart, he was away from home and school for almost a year after his father died, and despite that he was on top of the class –with Anne-, his passion for medicine pushed him to study hard to catch on with the rest of the class quickly. Gilbert was the best at almost every subject, his strong suit was geometry, but he was having a bit of a hard time with English Literature, unlike Anne. She had such a way with words, he could only hope he could be as good as her in the subject, but in reality, no one could even be half as good as Anne.

 _Anne._ He has not talked to her since that –whatever it was- at the Vale's Garden. Oh, how he missed her.

"BLYTHE!" Bash yelled from downstairs "SOMEONE'S HERE TO SEE YOU"

"Coming!" He tried to fix a bit his appearance, his shirt was out and his hair messy. He quickly made himself a bit presentable and went downstairs. A pretty blonde girl with beautiful eyes was waiting there by the door for him, "Hello, Ruby. How...are you?" he greeted, confused.

"I'm good, thank you" Ruby responded with a smile "How are you?"

"Great! What brings you here?" he tried to sound as polite as possible and hiding his discomfort.

"I wanted to talk to you" she smiled.

"You did?" he swallowed.

"Yes, would you like to go for a walk?"

"Uhh" Bash, who has been listening to their conversation, nudged him to get the words out of him "Sure! Sure, let me go change my shoes real quick" he ran upstairs not even waiting for a response. He went into his room and looked in the mirror. 'You got this, Blythe. She's just a friend' he breathed 'oh, god. What if she asks me to go to the party with her? I can't say no that'll hurt her feelings' he thought while changing his shoes 'forget it, it's probably not that'

"Are you ready?" Ruby asked Gilbert once he got back downstairs; he just nodded, nervous to talk. "Alright, let's go"

They got out of the house and walked around Gilbert's front yard. A few minutes went by before any of them said anything.

"Gilbert?" Ruby said, he hummed in response "I wanted you to know that you have my permission to date Anne"

"I beg your pardon?" he was shocked.

"Don't play dumb, Gilbert" she started saying "You like Anne, I know you do. It's always been her and you know it" he was speechless, so she kept talking "You know, Anne made me read this book, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brönte, she loves this book –well, it's difficult to find a book she doesn't like but that's not the point-. There's this line in the book: 'Whatever our souls are made of-"

"-his and mine are the same'" he smiled "sorry, please continue"

She smiled "That quote describes you and Anne perfectly, Gilbert. You and she are soul mates"

"Kindred spirits" he corrected her.

"Well yes, but not only that" he looked confused "You _are_ kindred spirits, Gilbert. Just like Anne and Diana are kindred spirits, you care for each other, love each other very much and have some things in common, you're alike I mean; but- there's a difference between the love you feel for a friend and the love you feel for a significant other" she explained, "Your connection with Anne goes beyond 'kindred-spiritism' if that's even a word"

"It's not" Gilbert smiled.

"Anyway," she chuckled "You and Anne are connected in a way- in a way not so long ago I hoped you were with me. Don't feel bad about me, Gilbert. I understand; you and I are just- not made for each other, but you and Anne are. You two are totally clueless about each other's feelings –kind of ironic because you two are supposed to be the smartest of the class and yet here we are, the girl with a seven-year-long crush on Gilbert Blythe telling him to go after the girl he loves and that girl is not even her- and it drives me crazy to see you looking at her with those eyes full of want and she does the same, and neither of you does anything about it!"

"She doesn't look at me like that, Ruby" he was walking with his eyes fixed at his feet.

"Yes, she does!" she exclaimed "She loves you, Gilbert. Just as much as you love her or more"

"That's impossible. I think I love her with my whole self"

"And what are you waiting for? TELL HER!" she grabbed him by his shoulders and shook him, like trying to wake him up from a trance.

"I can't" he sighed.

"Why? Give me one good reason not to tell her" she crossed her arms.

"She- maybe she laughs in my face"

"You do remember we're talking about Anne here, right?"

He sighed, 'she's right, she wouldn't do that' he thought. "Ruby, I-" he tried to say but could not find the words, so he just hugged her "Thank you" he breathed.

"Don't thank me yet, I'm not finished" he let go of her and continued listening carefully, "You have to take her to the party"

"How?"

"Really Gilbert? Are you really the smartest boy of the class?" he stood quiet "ASK HER TO GO WITH YOU" she said pausing after every word.

"But no one is going with a partner" Ruby nodded, he was right.

"Well, then. Let me think of something else" she paused for a moment, "I've got it! Wear a matching boutonniere" he did not say anything so she just continued, "Anne is going to borrow one of Diana's dresses. All of her dresses are blue with some white flourish. You just have to wear a white and blue boutonniere and you'll be matching, everyone else will think It's just a coincidence but Anne will think It's destiny"

"If all of Diana's dresses are the same, that means I'll be matching with her too" he said.

"Di is wearing her special dress, she told me the other day during lunch, the dress is golden with some colorful flourish and completely different from all of her other dresses"

"Ok, I'll do it"

"Come on, Gilb- wait" she stopped walking, "You'll do it?" she smiled.

"Yes?" Ruby frowned "Yes! I'll do it"

"Great!" she shrieked.

"Would you help me?"

"Yes, of course" she smiled and he sighed, "Now, come on, lover boy. Let's go pick the most beautiful flowers we can find to impress Anne" he chuckled. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written before I wrote the chapter about the party, so it's been like this since the beginning. Actually, I already finished this story and started writing a sequel... I won't say what it is about because that would be a spoiler to the ending of this part, but I'm going to give you the title: Cortaro. You can make your own theories with that (if you can hehe).
> 
> Tell me your thoughts! Please don't be a silent reader!! See you tomorrow with the continuation of the party!
> 
> xo GingerSpirits
> 
> P.S. Sorry for not responding to some comments, sometimes I just don't know what to say but just so you know I do read them all and I appreciate them so much, keep commenting! I promise I'll get better at replying to them🧡


	13. Yours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You look very beautiful” Gilbert said “You are very beautiful”
> 
> Anne giggled, “You said that already”
> 
> “And I’m going to keep saying it until you believe me” he smiled “You are so beautiful, Ms. Shirley-Cuthbert”
> 
> “You too are very handsome yourself, Dr. Blythe” she smiled.

Back at the party…

“Are you finished? Can I talk now?” he nodded “Well, where do I begin?” she paused for a moment “I do want to kiss you, Gilbert Blythe. Not only that, I’ve been wanting to kiss you for a long time. So, if you were worried that I didn’t want to kiss you… Let me make this very clear so we avoid any new misunderstanding. I want to kiss you, Gil” his eyes widened and he froze there, not knowing what to do. Her hand moved up from his shoulder to the back of his neck, playing the curls of his hair, sending chills down his spine. His hand went up to her face and caressed her rosy cheek with his thumb so softly like she was a doll made of porcelain. He started to lean in, closing his eyes– “not here though” Gilbert’s eyes shot open “Not in a room full of people, full of gossipers, I want my first kiss to be perfect, I want it to be only you and me” she stated.

Gilbert nodded in agreement; taking both of her beautiful, delicate hands and kissed them, showing her all the love he felt for her in just one simple kiss. He spun her around and then pulled her close again “You look very beautiful” he said.

After a few more dances, “Would you like to go outside for a while?” he looked around “I don’t think anyone would notice. And to be clear, I’m not taking you outside to kiss you; if it happens, I won’t be mad, but that’s not the reason I want to go outside”

“And what’s the reason?” she teased.

“No reason at all, I just want to walk and talk with you for a bit” he responded truthfully

“Ok, that sounds nice,” she said, “and I do think someone will notice us leaving, by the way. Diana, Cole, and Ruby at least” he chuckled. He extended his arm for her to grab, and they walked arm-in-arm outside, through the beautiful gardens of the Barry’s.

“You look very beautiful” Gilbert said “You _are_ very beautiful”

Anne giggled, “You said that already”

“And I’m going to keep saying it until you believe me” he smiled “You are so beautiful, Ms. Shirley-Cuthbert”

“You too are very handsome yourself, Dr. Blythe” she smiled.

“Oh, I know” he teased “Wait until you see how this handsome face is going to beat you at the queens entrance exam”

“Oh, you wish” she smirked “Your handsome face is going to be shocked when you see my name on top of yours on the list”

“Well, let’s wait and see, _my_ pretty carrots” he squeezed her hand.

_My pretty carrots_

“Gil, am I yours?” she asked after a few seconds of silence. Gilbert’s pulse quickened.

“Only if you want to” he smiled.

“I want to” she admitted with a wide grin plastered on her face. After a few seconds, “Are you mine?”

“Well, I don’t really like to be owned exactly, I believe we are independent beings and-” he was teasing but Anne was not quite catching it so he laughed “I’m kidding, carrots” he smirked “I _am_ yours utterly and completely, yours. I’m yours for as long as you want me”

“Wow,” she gasped “Calm down, Dr. Blythe. It’s not like I want you around all the time, you’re kind of annoying sometimes” she teased.

He gasped and put a hand on his chest, trying to act hurt, “Says you!” They laughed.

“We should go back inside; if I was right, and Ruby, Diana, and Cole noticed we’re gone, they’ll be wondering where we are” she said.

Once inside, Anne and Gilbert were greeted with the eyes of every single one of their classmates, staring at them. She noticed right away but he was too distracted admiring her beauty. Anne looked at him and mouthed ‘everyone is looking at us’. Gilbert looked to see that indeed everyone was looking at them, some with warm smiles on their faces, others with disgust and others were just simply confused. He felt her tense up, so he squeezed her hand and gave her a reassuring smile.

“I’m yours, no matter what any of them have to say about it” he whispered in her ear.

Anne looked back at the group of people and smiled. It was a “Gilbert Blythe is mine, I’m his’ and there’s nothing you stupid people can say or do to change that’ look. They walked past the sea of eyes and approached Ruby and Diana, who were in a corner smirking widely at their friends.

“FINALLY!” Diana went to hug her friend and ended up hugging Gilbert as well because he was standing right next to Anne “It’s been exhausting watching you two like each other and not doing anything about it!” she exclaimed.

Ruby smiled at them, she was standing next to them with her arms crossed. Gilbert got closer to her and hugged her. Cole, who left for a moment, was coming back and Gilbert pulled them in the hug too.

“MY SAVIORS” Gilbert said waving his hands after pulling back, and Ruby giggled. Gilbert saw the confused expression in both Anne’s and Diana’s faces “Ruby, stopped by my house a week ago and told me that I had to stop being such a ninny and that I had to tell Anne how I feel” he explained.

“Well, that’s not exactly what I said, but it’s a kind of good summary” she laughed.

“Thank you, Ruby,” Gilbert said, “and Cole, basically had to tell me the same thing but he didn’t go to my house”

“I found him outside, jealous of me” Cole laughed, “He thought we were together, Anne” she laughed even louder, Diana and Ruby joined them. Gilbert frowned, crossing his arms. “Anyway, I rebuilt the confidence Ruby built apparently… I just can’t believe two people had to talk to you and state the obvious” he rolled his eyes.

“Thank god this is finally over,” Diana said “I’ve tried convincing her for _years_ to tell him what she feels”

“Years?” Gilbert looked at Anne with a cheeky smile.

“She’s exaggerating it,” Anne said, seeing her friend mouth ‘I’m not’ from the corner of her eye. “Hey! Stop that!” Anne laughed.

The rest of the night went by smoothly, everyone was having fun, dancing. Miss Stacy gave little speech, pretty similar to the one she did in the class. She encouraged the kids to follow their dreams and to live “Life is too short to live with fear, do what you want to do, take chances. If something doesn’t go the way you wanted to, try again, and again, until you get it right. Finally, don’t let anyone step on you and crush you, life is rough –it really is- but I know all of you can walk through it; life is also great, so again, my dear children, live, live, live, so you don’t have any regrets at the end of the road. Oh! And remember, dreamers change the world” Miss Stacy said.

The next morning Anne wakes up next to Diana, she felt like she was waking up from the most beautiful dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! this is not over yet tho! we have four more chapters coming up and a sequel!! I started writing it already ;)
> 
> Tell me what you think about this chapter! I know you've been waiting for them to kiss, but I couldn't make their first kiss be at a party in front of every single one of their classmates, and Miss Stacy too! They'll kiss soon tho, I already wrote the kiss and I hope it fulfills your expectations. This is the first fic I've ever wrote so it probably won't be that good...Well, probably for you, I really like the kiss scene, it's simple and sweet, very different from other kiss scenes I've read in other fics so... I'm rambling I know, sorry. I just wanted to talk I guess, haha. This is so awkward, but for some reason I can't stop writing. Ok, now I'll stop.
> 
> I hope you're enjoying this fic just as much as I enjoyed writing it! Tell me your thoughts, please don't be a silent reader!!
> 
> xo GingerSpirits
> 
> P.S I didn't proof-read before posting this, so if there are any mistakes let me know :)


	14. Gilby Loves Carrots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Carrots!” Delphine mumbled, “Carrots, carrots, da da da da da” she started singing, “Gilby loves carrots, bum da bum bum” Bash laughed.
> 
> “Yes, princess,” Gilbert chuckled. Delphine got up and started running around the table singing the song again.
> 
> “Delly!” Anne called, “You’re going to get dizzy, sweetie”

Two days before the exams…

Studying, studying, studying. Seems like studying is the only thing Anne Cordelia Shirley-Cuthbert was doing these days. She and her classmates had been staying extra-extra-hours studying at the schoolhouse. They weren’t sitting in their usual seats though, Gilbert was sitting next to Anne, Diana was not going to Queens so her seat was free for him to sit on; Ruby and Moody started sitting together, they had been spending a lot more time recently since they danced at the party; everyone else was sitting in groups, not coupled-up.

Gilbert was writing something for Anne to correct, while she was doing some geometry exercises for him to correct. Both helping each other with work their weaknesses, which was the others' strong suit. They were mostly focusing on their work, giving each other quick glances without the other one noticing. After every study session, Gilbert walked Anne home, this day was not different from the others. They walked arm-in-arm, talking about anything and everything, they have not kissed… yet. Every time they were about to kiss someone or something interrupted them, although Anne kisses him on the cheek when they’re saying goodbye at the gate of Green Gables, and then they would exchange ‘I see you tomorrows' and a shy smile.

The day before the exams…

Marilla sent Matthew to invite Mary, Bash, and Delphine for dinner at Green Gables, Gilbert was already there; he had been studying in the kitchen table with Anne all day.

When the guests arrived, the table was all set. Anne and Gilbert had cleared the table of their papers and then helped Marilla with supper.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Marilla” said Bash with Delly in his arms.

“Good afternoon, Marilla,” Mary said “I couldn’t come with empty hands,” she said handing Marilla a cake “So, a baked my famous vanilla cake”

“Why, thank you so much, Mary. This is so very kind of you” Marilla said. Everyone sat on the table in their usual places; Matthew and Bash in the corners, Marilla, Mary and Delphine on one side, and Gilbert and Anne in the other.

“Could you pass me the carrots?” Bash said to Anne, and she did it “Would you like some, Blythe? I know you really love carrots” he teased.

Gilbert blushed at his comment, “Well, I do. Thanks, Bash” he responded and grabbed the tray, making it seem that he wasn’t bothered by his brother’s comment. Under the table, Anne reached and held his hand, well aware of what Bash was trying to do. Gilbert tensed up a bit at the touch, but quickly relaxed and squeezed her hand. They continued eating with their hands intertwined under the table for the rest of the dinner.

“Carrots!” Delphine mumbled, “Carrots, carrots, da da da da da” she started singing, “Gilby loves carrots, bum da bum bum” Bash laughed.

“Yes, princess,” Gilbert chuckled. Delphine got up and started running around the table singing the _song_ again.

“Delly!” Anne called, “You’re going to get dizzy, sweetie”

“Anne!” she giggled, “I don’t dizzy” she responded, making everyone in the table laugh. What a smart two-year-old she was, Anne thought. “Auntie,” Delphine said, talking to Anne, “I want a story”

“Anne can’t tell you a story right now, Delly” Mary frowned.

“But story” Delphine pouted.

“Maybe after dinner?” Gilbert stepped in. Delphine nodded with a smile and when to sit next to him, “Good, princess” he smiled.

When dinner was finished, Anne stayed in the kitchen cleaning the planes, Gilbert stayed too to help her and the rest when to the parlor. Even though Anne and Gilbert were not officially courting, they were pretty much a couple, they were unofficially official. Soon after, they joined the others in the parlor; Anne taking the last seat on the couch and Gilbert sitting on the floor next to her.

“Ah! Young love!” Bash sighed. Gilbert gave him an ‘I’m going to kill you’ look and he laughed.

“Are you two ready for your exams tomorrow?” Mary asked trying to change the subject.

“We-” Gilbert tried to say but Bash interrupted him.

“I bet they are, Gilbert’s been almost every afternoon here or at school studying… with Anne” she blushed and looked at her knees where Gilbert had his arm.

“Bash-” Mary and Gilbert said.

“Ok, ok. I’m sorry, Anne with an e” Bash chuckled “I just can’t believe you two are finally courting” Anne coughed. Marilla looked at her brother; he was clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

“OKAY” Gilbert quickly stood up “We should get going. Tomorrow is a very important day for Anne and I’s future so we need to be well-rested”

“Yes, you’re right. I’d better go to sleep now” Anne said.

“But story!” Delphine cried, “Uncle Gilby promised” she flopped to the floor.

Anne kneeled next to her, “It’s ok, Delly. I’ll promise you I’ll read you a story next time” Delphine frowned, “I promise” her frown softened and she nodded.

“I’ll go get the carriage ready” Bash said, picking up Delphine from the floor.

“I’ll help” Matthew went with him. Without saying anything Mary and Marilla went behind them.

“Good night, carrots” Gilbert offered his hand to help her get up.

“Good night, slate-face” she laughed, squeezing his hand.

“Good luck tomorrow, you’ll need it” he’s teasing her, “Try not to get distracted by my handsome face during the exams”

“Ah! You wish, pretty boy”

“You think I’m pretty, huh?” he teased, sliding a hand to her waist, pulling her closer. Anne gasped “I think you’re pretty too, carrots” he whispered “You… are… so… so… beautiful” Anne’s pulse quickened; his words sending shivers down her spine. This is the effect he had on her; every time he was close she felt like putty, his hand on her waist was the only thing that was keeping her from melting to the floor right at that moment. Their lips parted; eyes trapped in each other’s; breathings in sync, in and out, at the same time; their faces, barely inches apart.

“Gil-” he leaned in a bit.

“Can I kiss you?” she nodded, eagerly. He put his hand on her cheek, the other one still on her waist, holding her. Gilbert closed his eyes, leaning in-

*Knock knock*

*Knock*

“Can I come in?” Bash said, waiting at the parlor’s door without looking “I’m sorry for ruining your alone time, but we gotta go, Blythe. Delphine is making a tantrum; I guess she hasn’t forgotten about that story”

Gilbert sighed, with his eyes still close, his hands still on Anne. She leaned in his chest, breathing in his sent –mint and wood- and she hugged him. He moved her head back, so he could see her. Anne opened her eyes and smiled. Gilbert placed a quick but passion-filled kiss on her forehead.

“Good night, my pretty daisy. I’ll see you tomorrow” he whispered.

“Good night, Gil” he kissed her hand.

Gilbert grabbed Bash’s arm, dragging him outside. “I hate you so much right now” he whispered-yelled to his brother.

“I’m sorry” 

‘Why do we always get interrupted?’ Gilbert thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I making you wait too much for the kiss?? oh well.
> 
> I love Delphine so much, I really wanted to write something a chapter in which she called Anne and Gilbert, Auntie and Uncle, it's just so cute. Also, the poor couple always gets interrupted oh my god. So annoying, I hope they kiss soon ;)
> 
> I don't have much to say today (unlike yesterday), so maybe you could ask me some questions, idk I'm just kinda bored, I'll probably respond tomorrow bc it's late where I live, so... yeah, if you want to ask me something, pls do.
> 
> See you tomorrow for the next update!
> 
> xo GingerSpirits


	15. Love And War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Fair” he whispered, letting go of her hand.
> 
> “And square”

“GOOD MORNING, SNOW QUEEN!” Anne said, looking out her window. She went to her mirror, as usual, to see if her looks had changed, and once again, they had not. Anne continued her usual morning routine: getting dressed, braiding her hair, go downstairs, kiss Matthew and Marilla on the cheeks and have breakfast. Today was an important day for her, she was going to take the Queens entrance exams, if she passed these exams, she could go to college and study to become a teacher -she also wanted to be a writer but that would come later-.

“I hope you’re ready for today” Marilla asked.

“I am, I’m just- a bit nervous”

“Don’t be nervous, everything will be fine. You’re as smart as they make ‘em” Matthew assured her.

“Thank you, Matthew” Anne smiled.

“You don’t have to be nervous, you’ve been studying for months. You are at the top of your class” Marilla added.

“Actually, Gilbert and I share that spot… at the top of the class” she explained, “he’s so smart. Even smarter than me I think, don’t tell him I said that” she chuckled. Her parents grinning widely.

*knock knock*

Matthew went to open the door, “Hello, Gilbert”. Anne lifted her head from her plate, eyes wide open.

“Good morning, Mr. Cuthbert” Gilbert nodded “I’m here to walk Anne to our exams”

“Uhh, yes, sure. Come in” Matthew moved out of the way, letting space for the boy to come in.

“Good morning, Mrs. Cuthbert. Good morning, Anne” he smiled.

“Good morning, Gilbert” Marilla said.

“Hello” The red-haired girl responded.

“Are you ready to go?” Gilbert asked.

“Yes, let’s go” they started heading to the door.

“Wait, Anne! Do you have anything you need?” Marilla asked and she nodded “Well, good luck” Anne hugged them both and gave them kisses on the cheek.

“Thank you, I’ll see you after the exams!” she shrieked.

It was not a long walk from Green Gables to the church, where the exams will take place. When they arrived, all their classmates were already there, even Diana.

Anne ran to her friend and hugged her, “What are you doing here?”

“I came to take the exams!”

“WHAT?!” Anne pulled back to see her friend.

“I talked with my parents, It was a long talk, full of screams, sobs, and tears, but in the end they let me. I had Aunt Jo’s help” she chuckled.

“I’m so happy” they hugged again.

“Me too” Ruby ran and joined them in the embrace.

“The examiner!” Moody said and everyone –except Gilbert- gasped. The examiner opened the church and entered, letting the kids go in as well.

“Alright, let’s not be nervous we got this, right?” Diana said, clearly nervous.

“Right” Gilbert said.

“Right, we got this. I got this” Diana repeated.

“Calm down, girl. You’re making me more nervous than what I already am” Ruby said, “Everything is going to be just fine. Let’s just… breathe” they all inhaled deeply, held the breath for a moment and then let it out slowly.

“Good luck, I love you all so much” Anne said to Diana, Ruby, and Gilbert.

“And we love you” Ruby responded, glancing at Gilbert who was telling her something with his eyes. Ruby nodded, “Come on, Diana. Let’s go find some seats” she grabbed her friend by her arm and both girls walked in the church, not before smirking at the couple –of friends- they were leaving behind.

“Good luck, carrots” Gilbert stepped closer.

“Good luck, Gil” she pulled up her hand for him to shake, he chuckled and grabbed it.

“May I get a good-luck kiss?” he smiled. Anne quietly gasped and looked around to see if anyone was there, Billy was, but he was too busy being stupid to notice; she quickly stood on her tiptoes, grabbed his right cheek and gave him a sweet kiss on the other.

“Not what I was expecting, but not mad at it” he smirked, “Let’s go find our seats, my daisy” he said, tucking a wild strand of her behind her ear. Then, grabbing her hand, he walked into the church.

“Fair” he whispered, letting go of her hand.

“And square”

“See you on the other side of the war” Gilbert said, before taking his seat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really short, its more of a fan service/connector chapter. Next one is better tho... ;) no further comments.
> 
> xo GingerSpirits


	16. Braider

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Why?” 
> 
> “Why what?” Gilbert asked confused.
> 
> “Why me?”
> 
> “Why you?” he said, “I don’t understand”
> 
> “Why do you like me?” Anne said.

Two weeks after the exams…

Anne was making her way to the Blythe-Lacroix household early in the morning. Gilbert went to Charlottetown the day before to get the results of the exams. They were supposed to meet at the Vale’s garden after lunch to see the results, but Anne was too nervous to wait, so she decided to go to Gilbert’s house after breakfast. Anne was not the only one who could not wait, just as she was making her way to his house, Gilbert was on his way to her house.

_“I’m going to get the results tomorrow,” Gilbert says._

_“What?”Anne gasped._

_“Would you like to come with me?” he offered._

_“Marilla wouldn’t let me, I’ll wait for Miss Stacy to tell me my results”_

_“I could come, tomorrow… after lunch”_

_“I’d love that, Gil” she grabbed his hand_

_“I promise not to see the results until we’re together” he squeezed her hand._

_“It’s going to be so fun to see your face when you realize your name is under mine on the list” she teased._

_“We’ll see, Shirley. We’ll see” he laughed, "I'll see you tomorrow after lunch at our place, does that sound alright to you, daisy?"_   
  


A tall boy with dark hair came in her sight, “GIL?” she yelled.

“ANNE! ANNE!” The boy started running towards her, and she did the same, “FIRST PLACE! WE TIED FOR FIRST PLACE!” Gilbert yelled, Anne, laughing with excitement.

“GIL! I CAN BELIEVE IT!” she jumped into his arms, “CONGRATS!” she said, hugging him tightly.

“Congrats, Anne” he whispered, pulling away from her to look at her face-

Kiss.

Anne kissed him, “Anne-” Gilbert said, out of breath, she just smiled. He cupped her face and pulled her in for another kiss. She hums into his mouth, wrapping her arms around his neck, playing with the curls that hang at the back of his neck. He puts one of his hands on her waist, pulling her closer, the other one still on her cheek.

They pulled away slowly, giving each other little pecks before pulling their lips apart completely. They stayed there, inches from each other, their noses touching, with their eyes still closed, smiling, and breathing each other in.

“This was definitely worth the wait” he breathed, “Miss Anne Cordelia Shirley-Cuthbert kissed me. I declare myself the luckiest boy in the world” Gilbert said with his chin up, smiling. Anne chuckled and kissed him again, “Am I dreaming?”

“You’re not, am I?” she smiled.

He kissed her softly, “Did that answer your question?” he teased.

“No, you better try again” she smiled, and he kissed her again.

“Let’s walk for a bit, I need some time to process what just happened” Gilbert said.

After a long walk, they were sitting under a tree at the Vale’s garden. Gilbert’s back against a tree and Anne sitting in between his legs, her back pressed against his chest, his arm around her chest, holding her.

“I want to learn how to do these” he said taking one of her braids. Anne smiled and went to remove the little ribbon holding her braid “let me do it” he started undoing one of her braids, slowly, trying not to pull any hair of that beautiful head of hers, until it was all loose.

“You have to separate into three pieces, like this” she showed him, “and then you cross one over the other, like this. First this piece, then this one and then this one, and then you repeat the sequence” she said. Gilbert, again, undid the little braid she did and started doing it by himself.

‘This one over this one, then this one over this one and then this one over this one’ he thought, biting his tongue to concentrate. “This does not look right” Gilbert said when he finished. Anne looked at her braid and chuckled.

She gave him a little kiss on the lips, “you just need practice” she chuckled again, looking at the braid he had done, “I like it though. I might make you my personal braider”

“That’ll be my pleasure, my daisy” and kissed her softly.

“Why?” she asked after pulling away, accommodating herself against his chest again.

“Why what?” Gilbert asked confused.

“Why me?”

“Why you?” he said, “I don’t understand”

“Why do you like me?” Anne said.

He pulled her closer to his chest, “I think I should ask that question, daisy”

“You’re perfect, as simple as that. You’re perfect, and I’m a faithful believer that you can’t achieve perfection and somehow you’ve managed it” he smiled.

“I don’t think I’m perfect”

“Maybe you’re not perfect for others, but you’re perfect for me” she laid her head back on his chest “Smart, respectful, loyal, amorous, handsome…” she said that last word with a wide grin plastered on her face. “I can’t believe this” she said after a few seconds of silence.

“What?”

“Every girl in our school likes you and all of them are so pretty. I didn’t have a chance against them when it comes to winning your heart, so I settled for being your best friend. It was better to have you as a friend than not to have you at all… I- I was used to you looking at me, It didn’t use to bother me, but then my feelings for you started coming and I couldn’t bear it, knowing that I couldn’t be with you, that’s why I started coming to school earlier every day after you told me you would’ve kissed me, to avoid you, so that I could control my feelings for you. I know I’m rambling a bit, I just started thinking about this, about us. I just can’t believe it”

“Smart, loving, creative, fiery temper, beautiful…” Gilbert said, “The question was ‘Why?’ then…” he started, “Remember the day we met?” she nodded, “After I helped you with Billy, I was expecting some kind of reaction from you towards me. I know this will sound wrong, but I was used to being praised by the girls and having their full attention. I used to lightly flirt with them and tease them, I have to admit” he smirked, “and then, when you came and ignored me, even after I saved you, I- oh god, something shift inside of me, I _needed_ your attention. When I pulled your hair and called you ‘carrots’ and then you hit me, I knew it; I was in love with you”

“Maybe I hit you too hard” she laughed.

“Definitely not, I deserved it. I was so wrong for doing that, I’m sorry” he caressed her arm.

“You know I forgave you a long time ago, Gil”

“I know” he squeezed her in his arms, "But anyway, no girl in our class would have done anything like that, you were different from the others. I didn't know I wanted a girl who speaks her mind about things until the day I met you" he kisses her head, " I can't wait until we're-" he stops.

"What were you going to say?"

“Anne, I’ve meaning to ask you something,” he said. Anne turned to see his face, he sounded serious, and nodded for him to continue “I was wondering if- you- would like to- maybe- make our relationship official- if you wanted us to court- us to start courting” he mumbled.

“What was that?” she teased “I couldn’t hear you, could you please speak a bit louder, Dr. Blythe?” he put his hand on her cheek and caressed it.

“Would you like to start courting, my pretty daisy?” he asked.

“I’d love to" she smiled, "but you’ll have to ask for permission with my parents”

“I already did” he smiled.

“When?” Anne asked, curious. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think Gilbert called Anne 'daisy' way too much in this chapter, but I really love the sound of it... what do you think? 
> 
> Also, the kiss... how are we feeling? was it worth the wait? 
> 
> Final chapter tomorrow!! Don't worry this is not the end of their story, this is just the beginning (by that I mean I have a sequel planned)
> 
> xo GingerSpirits


	17. Cortaro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No summary because it's a really short chapter, sorry. I explained at the end.

Two days after the Queens entrance exams…

_“Hello, Gilbert,” Matthew said when he opened the door and saw the boy standing there “What brings you here? If you- uh- you’re here for Anne, she’s not here”_

_“Actually, I’m here to see you… and Ms. Cuthbert” the boy said._

_“Uh, well. Come in, I’ll go get Marilla”_

_After a few minutes, both siblings came to the parlor, where Gilbert was waiting._

_“Well, hello, Gilbert. It’s so good to see you” Marilla said._

_“It’s good to see you too, Ms. Cuthbert” he nodded._

_“What brings you here?” she asked._

_“I well- I came- to ask you for permission,” he said, pausing for a few seconds “To court Anne”_

_“I see,” Marilla said, Matthew kept quiet, not knowing what to say._

_“I know I’m not the most eligible suitor for your daughter. I don’t have much, I know that, but I can promise you if she and I were to get married some day, she won’t need anything. I’ll give her everything humanly possible, I’ll love her with all my soul and care for her, and I- I guess, what I’m trying to say here is that, I love Anne, you might think I sound crazy right now, but I do. I love her, there’s no one else for me but her and I wanted to do things the right way, that’s why I came here to ask you for permission because I know how much you mean to her and- and-”_

_“Gilbert, you are the most wonderful boy for our Anne” Matthew interrupted, “You have our permission, son. You’ve always had it”_

_“I knew you two were meant to be since the first time I saw you together,” Marilla said._

_“Thank you” he sighed “Thank you so much, Mr. and Ms. Cuthbert”_

_“Thank you, Gilbert” Marilla offered him a kind smile, “Take care of our Anne”_

Two weeks after the exams, at the Vale’s garden…

“So you asked them for permission almost two weeks ago?” Anne asked after he finished his story.

“Precisely” he smiled proudly.

“And why did it take you so long to ask me, Gilbert Blythe?” she frowned crossing her arms.

“I was waiting for the right time” he buries his nose on her neck “We should go tell everyone the news… everyone meaning our families, obviously” he said.

“Tell them what? It’s not like we’re getting married”

“Tell them that we’re courting, I want every single person on this island to know how lucky I am” Gilbert smiled, cupping her face and bringing her lips to his.

“Okay,” she said between kisses.

* * *

**Bash and Mary**

“I KNEW IT! I CALLED THIS! I KNEW IT” Bash danced “SINCE THE MOMENT YOU GOT HER LETTER ON THE SHIP! I KNEW IT”

“Congratulations” Mary grabbed Anne’s hand.

* * *

**Matthew and Marilla**

“We’re so happy for you two!” Marilla said and Matthew nodded in agreement.

* * *

**Rachel Lynde**

“Courting?!” she gasped “How wonderful! Another young couple in Avonlea!”

* * *

**Diana and Ruby**

“I took you two long enough” Diana said.

“YES, you were exhausting with your slow-burn shit” Ruby said.

“RUBY!” Anne and Diana said, and Ruby chuckled.

* * *

**Cole**

Dear, Anne

I do not have much to say to you than just…I TOLD YOU GILBERT HAD A CRUSH ON YOU!

Love,

Cole

P.S. When is the wedding?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of this part... I know it's short but it's kind of a set up for the next part of the series. The next part is called Cortaro (like the title of this chapter) it comes from the Greek verb Κορτάρω and it means 'To court'.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this first part! The series is called Agape, the word comes from the Greek noun αγάπη, which means 'Love'. As you may have already noticed I love to use Greek words to name my works, I study classic philology at university and I am completely in love with the language, and also think it sounds way more romantic in greek because why call it 'Kiss' when you can call it 'Phileo, why call it 'Courtship' when you can call it 'Cortaro', and finally, why call it 'Love' when you can call it 'Agape'.
> 
> If you could go to the series and bookmark it or something, I'd really appreciate it. See you in part two: Cortaro.
> 
> xo GingerSpirits
> 
> EDIT: Chapter One of Cortaro it's already up! go check it out :)


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